Optimum Configuration of Rainwater Harvesting System using CREO PARAMETRIC and ANSYS

Abstract

The practice of rainwater harvesting (RWH) has been studied extensively in recent years, as it has the potential to alleviate the increasing stress on urban water distribution systems. An appropriate design and evaluation of an RWH system is necessary to improve system performance and the stability of the water supply. In this study, the design of the main components in the RWH system such as the gutter, water storage tank and water pump were varied based on the main material of the component and rainfall intensity. Each component was presented according to the results of design, stress and fluid analyses performed by Creo parametric 7.0 and ANSYS. The main outcome of this work is a computational design tool that can be used to improve the RWH system component’s performance considering a variety of factors. A design of a gutter made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with a yield strength of 50 MPa and a size of 5 inches was used. The rainwater will pass through a water pipe to a 500 L, High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) water storage tank with a yield strength of 43 MPa. A 1 HP single-phase pump with a maximum flow rate of 196.2 L/min was used to generate a steady flow for household usage. The factor of safety of each component was obtained above 1.5 and was determined by the maximum Von Mises stress. Each component in the system has a different life span, however, the overall life span of the RWH system is estimated to be 20 years